United States of Secrets | FRONTLINE | PBS

How did the government come to spy on millions of Americans?

How did the government come to spy on millions of Americans?

In United States of Secrets, a two-part series airing May 13 and 20, FRONTLINE goes behind the headlines to reveal the dramatic inside story of the U.S. government’s massive and controversial secret surveillance program—and the lengths they went to trying to keep it hidden from the public.

Part one, from Michael Kirk (League of Denial, Bush’s War), goes inside Washington to piece together the secret political history of “The Program,” which began in the wake of September 11 and continues today—even after the revelations of its existence by Edward Snowden.

Then, in part two, Martin Smith (The Untouchables, To Catch a Trader) explores the secret relationship between Silicon Valley and the National Security Agency: How have the government and tech companies worked together to gather and warehouse your data?

Part political thriller and part spy novel, United States of Secrets is FRONTLINE’s definitive history of domestic surveillance in a post-9/11 world.

Spying on the home front was the one rule that NSA analysts were constantly warned against before 9/11, but that all changed the morning after the attacks.